More time to quiz Joanna landlord

Peter Stanley says he worked to help start the car of Joanna Yeates's boyfriend

The landlord of murdered Joanna Yeates remains in custody after police were granted more time to question him about her death.

Chris Jefferies, 65, was arrested on Thursday morning and a magistrate last night granted Avon and Somerset Police an extension to hold him in custody.

The development came after officers spent the day talking to Peter Stanley, 56, a neighbour of the retired public school teacher in Clifton, Bristol, who said he and Mr Jefferies helped start Miss Yeates's boyfriend's car the day she vanished.

Mr Stanley recalled how they used jump leads to start Greg Reardon's car, sending him on his way to Sheffield. "It was a non-event at the time, but absolutely poignant now - what if we didn't get the car to start?" said Mr Stanley.

Hours after successfully starting the car, Miss Yeates, a landscape architect, disappeared and her snow-covered body was discovered more than a week later on Christmas Day.

Police confirmed Mr Stanley, who lives in a flat in the mansion to the right of Mr Jefferies' in Canynge Road, Clifton, is being treated as a witness.

The 56-year-old spent the majority of Friday helping detectives with their inquiries and was seen leaving his home in his maroon BMW with a detective, before returning later in a marked police car. Earlier, he was spotted showing the police a distinctive army-style 4x4 truck in the driveway. Four large brown evidence bags and a laptop case were also seen being taken from his flat by a plain-clothed detective.

Police would not comment on the possibility that Miss Yeates may have been killed after finding an intruder in her flat, but said they were looking at all avenues of inquiry.

An Avon and Somerset Police spokeswoman said: "We cannot go into the details of an inquiry like this, but obviously the investigation is ongoing and in an inquiry of this size every line will be pursued or looked at."